Directionality of the Associations of High School Expectancy-Value, Aspirations, and Attainment: A Longitudinal Study Jiesi Guo Australian Catholic University Herbert W. Marsh Australian Catholic University King Saud University University of Oxford Alexandre J. S. Morin Philip D. Parker Gurvinder Kaur Australian Catholic University (This study examines the directionality of the associations among cognitive assets (IQ, academic achievement), motivational beliefs (academic self- concept, task values), and educational and occupational aspirations over time from late adolescence (Grade 10) into early adulthood (5 years post high school). Participants were from a nationally representative sample of U.S. boys N= 2,213). The results suggest that (a) self-concept and intrinsic value have reciprocal effects with academic achievement and predict educa- tional attainment, (b) self-concept is consistently found to predict occupa- tional aspirations, (c) the associations between achievement and aspirations are partially mediated by motivational beliefs, and (d) academic self-concept in high school had stronger long-term indirect effects on future occupational aspirations and educational attainment than task values and IQ. KEYWORDS: self-concept, expectancy-value, educational attainment, educa- tional and occupational aspiration, transition in adulthood T he post–high school transition into early adulthood marks an important developmental step in the educational and occupational career of young people. During this transition, individuals begin to make choices and engage in a variety of activities that will have a determining impact on the rest of their lives, including the decision about university or vocational study and entry into the workforce (Savickas, 2002). In the educational area, it is well documented that cognitive resources (e.g., IQ and prior academic achievement) are not the American Educational Research Journal April 2015, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 371–402 DOI: 10.3102/0002831214565786 Ó 2015 AERA. http://aerj.aera.net at Australian Catholic University on May 28, 2015 http://aerj.aera.net Downloaded from